ABC anchor Martha Raddatz played the video of President Trump's now infamous tweet of him body slamming CNN to the ground for her guest, Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert on Sunday. It was the first he had seen of the gif, an edited clip of Trump's days hosting the WWE. The media has been freaking over the 30-second clip, accusing the president of inciting violence against the press.
This scares me. Mr. President, please STOP. https://t.co/dga7ZAayYo
— Brooke Baldwin (@BrookeBCNN) July 2, 2017
As for Bossert, he barely flinched.
“No one would perceive that as a threat," he calmly told Raddatz.
Thomas Bossert, who is Trump's Homeland Security Adviser, on Trump’s CNN tweet: “No one would perceive that as a threat.” pic.twitter.com/H0VmAQJ9mv
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 2, 2017
"I guess my reaction to that tweet would be the same to any other of the president's tweets," he said, explaining that there's a lot of cable news shows that attack him daily. "I'm pretty proud of the president for developing a social media platform where he can talk directly to the American people."
CNN, however, felt compelled to issue a statement about the president's tweet.
"It is a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the President had never done so. Instead of preparing for his overseas trip, his first meeting with Vladimir Putin, dealing with North Korea and working on his health care bill, he is instead involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his."
Sure, CNN has a point that the president should probably err on the side of policy when it comes to his Twitter. But he and his advisers also have a point when they note the media's onslaught of criticism against his administration. Why shouldn't he find a way around them?
"He's the most genuine president," Bossert told Raddatz, with a genuine way of communicating with the American people.